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Monday, 5 December 2016

Where has Liberalism gone?

Those of you who have known me for a
while, know that I like to start many of my articles with a definition. That
way, the readers and myself have some kind of an objective tool, a common
denominator tostart a dialogue, a
debate and an exchange.

I therefore decided to look up the term “Liberal” And “Liberalism.”

The Oxford dictionaries define the
term “Liberal” as someone who is “willing
to respect or accept behaviour or opinions different” to their own…”
The Free Dictionary defines “Liberalism” as “A political theory founded on the
natural goodness of humans and the autonomy of the individual and favoring
civil and political liberties,”Both definitions, randomly selected, instill in their readers, at least in me,
a sense of elation. They infuse a feeling that the practice of this theory is a
panacea to all that is wrong in this world, one that we should all embrace and espouse.

The
opposite of Liberalism is Conservatism. According to the Oxford Dictinary, it is "Commitment to traditional values and ideas with opposition to change or innovation:". This , of course, implies intolerance, narrow-mindedness, and a
host of other not so complimentary terms. I regard myself as conservative which
based on the above encompasses nearly all the evil in the world.
And that is indeed what those who call themselves, liberals, the enlightened
ones, would accuse us, “conservatives,” of being - the compilations of all that is iniquitous in
this world. They are the bleeding hearts, they are the inclusive ones. They are
the all-encompassing ones, the broad-minded ones. In short, the sole holders of
right solution.

Until you dare to differ from them.

The recent election season is a perfect example of that. Granted, both sides
displayed some lack of mannerism when emotions took over. The ugly utterances
by both sides, the hatred, the profanity and the ugly metaphors brought to the
surface some unbearable behavioral patterns which in normal times would remain
hidden in the dark creases of the human soul.

I guess as a Conservative, a member of the group of human kind that represents
that which is all bad, I am ready and willing to take responsibility. After
all, how can you expect the “root of all evil” to act against that which is
innate to it?

But what about the “Liberals,” those who per the above definitions, are the
epitome of all that is positive, noble, decent and principled? Where is their
practice of the brotherhood of men, the practice of many basic liberties of all
those who were born equal, including the freedom to choose?

I have been wondering, is it possible that there are as many forms of “liberalism”
as there are declared liberals? Where has this noble concept that has guided
mankind through some dark eras gone astray? Where have the genuine liberals,
the guardians of some of the most noble ideas in our history gone?

Youth is not a time of life, it is a state of mind. It is a temper of the will, a quality of the imagination, a vigor of the emotions, a predominance of courage over timidity, of the appetite for adventure over the love of ease.

Nobody grows old by merely living a number of years. People grow old by deserting their ideals. Years wrinkle the skin, but to give up enthusiasm wrinkles the soul. Worry, doubt, self-distrust, fear and despair, these are the long, long years that bow the head and turn the growing spirit back to dust.

Whether seventy or seventeen there is in every beings heart the love of wonder, the sweet amazement of the stars and the starlight things and thoughts, the undaunted challenge of events and the childlike appetite for what’s next, and the joy and the game of life.

You are as young as your faith, as old as your doubt, as young as your self-confidence, as old as your fear. So long as your heart receives messages of beauty, cheer, courage, grandeur and power from the earth, from man, and from the infinite, so long you are young.